Parliamentary representation by historic counties

The Parliamentary representation by historic counties is summarised in this article, with links to the articles about the representation of each of the historic counties in the House of Commons of the Parliaments of England (to 1707), Great Britain (1707-1800) and the United Kingdom (from 1801).

History of the historic counties and parliament

England was divided into shires during the Anglo-Saxon period, before the Norman conquest in 1066. After the conquest these sub-divisions of the country became known as counties. There were some changes in the number and boundaries of the counties in the 11th to 13th centuries, but by the time the representatives from them (known as Knights of the Shire) were summoned to attend Parliaments from the 13th century, the list of the historic counties was fixed. The two Palatine counties of Cheshire and Durham were not represented until the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries respectively, but the other historic counties each returned two county members.

In addition places (which in theory were urban areas) were created as parliamentary boroughs, from time to time starting in the thirteenth century. A place once enfranchised tended to continue to be required to send members to Parliament (known as burgesses or citizens for cities and barons for the Cinque Ports), even if it always had an insignificant population or decayed over the centuries. Although some boroughs included parts of more than one county it was customary to regard them as being associated with one county for the purpose of parliamentary representation.

The historic counties and the parliamentary boroughs within them (apart from a few boroughs straddling county boundaries which were conventionally associated with one of the historic counties) were considered as distinct communities before 1918. English counties were first divided for parliamentary purposes under the Reform Act 1832, when larger counties were divided into two divisions. However none of the county divisions crossed the historic county boundaries (except that under the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 detached parts were allocated for parliamentary purposes to the counties in which they were geographically located).

Boundary reviews were considered county by county unless, in the interests of producing more equal constituencies, two or more review areas (administrative counties and county boroughs between the redistributions of 1918 and 1974) were combined for a particular redistribution.

In 1918 Rutland, the smallest of the historic counties was joined with part of another county, but it was rare for an English constituency to cross county or county borough boundaries before the redistribution of 1983, which was based on the altered local government arrangements introduced in 1974. Since then the Boundary Commission for England has more often combined review areas to create cross border constituencies.

Although the historic counties were replaced, for most official purposes, by administrative counties in 1889; these were mostly the historic counties (with some rationalisation of borders) or well established sub-divisions of them. It was not until the local government reforms, in 1965 in the London area and 1974 elsewhere in England, that many administrative boundaries diverged in a major way from those of the historic counties. However, as the historic counties remain the focus of local patriotism it is worth continuing the lists until the present day.

Tables

  • (Type of constituency) BC Borough constituency, CC County constituency, UC University constituency.

The historic county of Hampshire (formerly Southamptonshire) is divided between its mainland and Isle of Wight parts. The only overlap is for the two member county constituency before 1832, which is included in the mainland entry. Otherwise the article allocates all constituencies to the historic county they are wholly or predominantly located in. Borough constituencies which were located in counties of themselves, county boroughs or unitary authorities have been allocated to the geographic historic county they were associated with even if they had had no administrative connection for centuries (the City of London and Middlesex for example).

Rutland has not provided the predominant part of any constituency since 1918, but all other historic counties have contained at least one seat until the present.

Table 1: List of historic counties and when they were represented

Note: Dates of representation prior to 1510 are provisional.

Historic CountyFromUntil21st Century Region(s)
Bedfordshire1290to dateEast of England
Berkshire1290to dateSouth East England
Buckinghamshire1290to dateSouth East England
Cambridgeshire1290to dateEast of England
Cheshire1545to dateNorth West England
Cornwall1290to dateSouth West England
Cumberland1290to dateNorth West England
Derbyshire1290to dateEast Midlands
Devon1290to dateSouth West England
Dorset1290to dateSouth West England
Durham1675to dateNorth East England
Essex1290to dateEast of England, London
Gloucestershire1290to dateSouth West England
Hampshire1290to dateSouth East England
Herefordshire1290to dateWest Midlands
Hertfordshire1290to dateEast of England, London
Huntingdonshire1290to dateEast of England
Isle of Wight1295to dateSouth East England
Kent1290to dateLondon, South East England
Lancashire1290to dateNorth West England
Leicestershire1290to dateEast Midlands
Lincolnshire1290to dateEast Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber
Middlesex1290to dateEast of England, London, South East England
Norfolk1290to dateEast of England
Northamptonshire1290to dateEast Midlands
Northumberland1290to dateNorth East England
Nottinghamshire1290to dateEast Midlands
Oxfordshire1290to dateSouth East England
Rutland12901918East Midlands
Shropshire1290to dateWest Midlands
Somerset1290to dateSouth West England
Staffordshire1290to dateWest Midlands
Suffolk1290to dateEast of England
Surrey1290to dateLondon, South East England
Sussex1290to dateSouth East England
Warwickshire1290to dateWest Midlands
Westmorland1290to dateNorth West England
Wiltshire1290to dateSouth West England
Worcestershire1290to dateWest Midlands
Yorkshire1290to dateYorkshire and the Humber

Table 2: List of historic counties representation, by constituencies and period

Historic County12901295129816031654165916831832186818851918194519501955197419831997next
Bedfordshire122222222333445466
Berkshire133535555544656677
Buckinghamshire122447755334556788
Cambridgeshire132343333544333444
Cheshire0
Cornwall166234232399755555556
Cumberland142223355655444444
Derbyshire1
Devon1799813131210111111101010101112
Dorset1
Durham0
Essex1
Gloucestershire1
Hampshire1
Herefordshire1
Hertfordshire1
Huntingdonshire122222222211111112
Isle of Wight010313322111111111
Kent1
Lancashire1
Leicestershire1
Lincolnshire1
Middlesex112333369485360515143373432
Norfolk1
Northamptonshire1
Northumberland1
Nottinghamshire1
Oxfordshire1
Rutland111111111100000000
Shropshire1
Somerset1
Staffordshire1
Suffolk1
Surrey1
Sussex1
Warwickshire1
Westmorland122212222211111111
Wiltshire1
Worcestershire1
Yorkshire1
Historic County12901295129816031654165916831832186818851918194519501955197419831997next

Table 3: List of historic counties representation, by members and period

Historic County12901295129816031654165916831832186818851918194519501955197419831997next
Bedfordshire244464444333445466
Berkshire266979998544656677
Buckinghamshire244881414118334556788
Cambridgeshire264686677655333444
Cheshire0
Cornwall21212461146461413755555556
Cumberland284436698655444444
Derbyshire2
Devon21418182026262219131111101010101112
Dorset2
Durham0
Essex2
Gloucestershire2
Hampshire2
Herefordshire2
Hertfordshire2
Huntingdonshire244444443211111112
Isle of Wight020626632111111111
Kent2
Lancashire2
Leicestershire2
Lincolnshire2
Middlesex226812881419495461515143373432
Norfolk2
Northamptonshire2
Northumberland2
Nottinghamshire2
Oxfordshire2
Rutland222222222100000000
Shropshire2
Somerset2
Staffordshire2
Suffolk2
Surrey2
Sussex2
Warwickshire2
Westmorland244424433211111111
Wiltshire2
Worcestershire2
Yorkshire2
Historic County12901295129816031654165916831832186818851918194519501955197419831997next

See also

  • Wikipedia:Index of article on UK Parliament constituencies in England
  • Wikipedia:Index of articles on UK Parliament constituencies in England N-Z

References

  • Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Reference Publications 1972)
  • British Parliamentary Constituencies: A Statistical Compendium, by Ivor Crewe and Anthony Fox (Faber and Faber 1984)
  • British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (The Macmillan Press 1977)
  • The House of Commons 1509-1558, by S.T. Bindoff (Secker & Warburg 1982)
  • The House of Commons 1558-1603, by P.W. Hasler (HMSO 1981)
  • The House of Commons 1660-1690, by Basil Duke Henning (Secker & Warburg 1983)
  • The House of Commons 1715-1754, by Romney Sedgwick (HMSO 1970)
  • The House of Commons 1754-1790, by Sir Lewis Namier and John Brooke (HMSO 1964)
  • The House of Commons 1790-1820, by R.G. Thorne (Secker & Warburg 1986)
  • The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844-50), second edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973) out of copyright
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